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Monday, September 05, 2016

Billy Graham: "When You Don't Like Your Job..."

In an article published last Thursday, Billy Graham responds to this "Labor Day" question:

The Question

"After college, I ended up taking what I thought was a temporary job, and five years later I'm still in it. Why hasn't God given me something exciting , instead of a job I really don't care about?"

The Answer

Billy Graham responded that Christians should view Labor Day as being a time to see what their occupations are from the perspective of God:

Millions of Americans are celebrating Labor Day, an annual holiday set aside to honor our working men and women, and to express gratitude for the important contributions they make to society. Where would we be without them?

But Labor Day, I believe, should also be a time when we ask God to help us see our work from His point of view. Let’s be honest; work isn’t always exciting, and when we focus only on its problems or spend our time wishing we were doing something else, we’ll probably end up resentful, angry or bored.

But when we begin to see our work from God’s point of view, our attitude will be much different. We’ll begin to realize that God gave our work to us, and because of this it has dignity and importance. For most of His life, Jesus worked with His hands as a carpenter; the Apostle Paul was a tentmaker. From the very beginning of the human race, even before sin entered the world, the Bible says, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (Genesis 2:15).

Begin by committing your work, and your whole life, to Jesus Christ. Then thank Him for giving you a job, and ask Him to help you do it well. And if He has another job in your future, trust Him to lead you to it in His time. The Bible says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord” (Colossians 3:23).

Labor, or work, is a consistent theme throughout the Bible.

"Labor Day"---the Holiday, has its origins in the 19th century, with the rise of organized labor and the growing influence of unions in the US and elsewhere.

According to the Department of Labor, the observance initially began on the local government level, then to the states, and then became a federal holiday.

The first government recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. The first state bill was introduced in the New York Legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887.

Ironically, it was socialists who pushed for the holiday. I'll have more comments about that on the radio today.

While some still celebrate labor unions and some of the socialists who were embedded in the unions, most in America today simply spend it as a holiday having something to do with work---and they do so by not working today if possible.

Remember Mr. Graham's advice: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord."

Someone has paraphrased this Truth; "Work as though it all depends on you, pray as though it all depends on God---because it does. We are co-laborers together with Him."

Be Blessed.

2 comments:

It's been said that people who do not do meaningful work tend to go crazy, that it's been proven. I'm not sure if they were talking about many Americans on government assistance, or the people in government themselves.